Drum agitator



y 1949. J. H. INGRAHAM EI'AL 2,469,557

' DRUM AGITATOR Filed Feb. 15, 1947 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG .5. F1G 1 FIG. 6.

INVENTORS; 1 Jose 11 1].] alzamfi W'l min/Z dlz'ams 6 0 W 7 ATTORNEYS.

y 1949- J. H. INGRAHAM ETAL v 2,469,557

DRUM AGITATOR Filed Feb. 15, 1 947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 9 v Flai- J1 WITNESSES B I J [L17 IIZVEZ%}SZ:Z% I 0.56 S I K BY Wilfamfl Malling ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 10, 1949 DRUM AGII'ATOR J ph 'Ingraham Eastern. .Md'u. and William Albert williamalthiladelphia, Pa., assignors to The American Pull y Company, lfrhiladellfliia,v P a corn rationot P nnsylvania Application February '13, 1947:, Seni'a'l No; 728290 .3 Claims. 1:

Ihis invention relates to. agitators such as are usedior stirring or mixing paint or similar prod- Hots shipped in. drums orlike containers.

One of the difficulties encountered with such agitators as heretofore constructed is that im ternal forces tend to distort the stirrer bar and cause it to; become dislodgedfrom the. fittings at the. tenor. bottom of the drum by which it is journaled for'rotation; In alarge drum which has been standing idle for some time the weight of solidpigrnentclinging to. the stirrer-bar may exert a considerable force tending to pull the stirrer bar saway from the supporting fittings, and as the is turned or rolledthis force may cause a substantial distortion or flexure of the bar away from the axis of the drum. To meet this dim culty it has been proposed to suspend the. top. portion. of thestirrer bar by means of a removable pin passing through the bar and engagingafitting'adjaQent-to-the bung hole. Such an arnangement has a number of disadvantages; in

cluding particularly the fact that frequentlythev Pin becomes dislodged, or misla-id, or falls into the rum. For this and other reasons, include ing. the; desirability of reducing the number of! Parts and of eliminating small parts which may bemisplaced'. it isdesirable to form the agitator innslloh manner thatv it is journaledz'at its upper end. For obvious reasons it is also desirable to. Journal the agitator in such manner that it may be: rotated without. objectionable oscillation or wear.

The-present invention accomplishes this pur pose and avoids the above mentioned and other diificulties encountered with oldertypes .of agit tors, by means of a: novel formationat the ten of the; stirrer bar which; interlocks. with a fitting adjacent to the bungv hole in such manner that these elements cannot be engaged or disene gaged. without swinging one element through a substantial; an le wi h. respe t to. the. other ele; ment, this an le bein reater th n th limit of fiss re or swin in movement. of th bar-within the drum so tha it. is insured that. the agitatorcannot; c id ntal y ec me. dislo d- Ai r her 91 stof the inven ion is to provide an. a itat r havin the advantages: indicated bove which. is perm nently incorporated in a drum or like container and which is so con stnuoted that it can beiusecland reused for alon per od of. time WithOH the ne essity of removal or'repla-oement ofrparts. I

Other Objects and advanta s characterizin ourinvention, including thos derive fromsim plisitvof construotionand e onomy r manurace tune, will become more apparent from the de-- ription of .a practical embodiment of the in.- vention, as well as .amodification thereof, which follows hereinaiter; having reference to the aceompanvin drawings. of the drawi Fig. 1 represents a Vertical section of a drum embodying: agitator of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of a portion of the top-head of the drum showing the manner in: whi hthe crankhand-leforthe agitator is se.-- cured thereto, the View being taken as inclicatedi v' thearrows II-.I:I of :Fi '1.

E ig, 3 is-an enlargedperspective view of the crank: handle employed for rotating the stirrer bar;

Fig; 42:13 arm-enlarged vertical cross sectional view of the portion 1013. the drum in the vicinity" of the bung: hole.- with the u s hole cap m d and the-crank.handle apnliecl'to the upp d of the-stirrer bar.

Big. 5 11s asimilar sectional view showing the interlocking; engagement of crank handle and stirrerbartaken.asiindicated by the arrows V -V ofiiFij 1i.

LFi'g; 6;.is.aqhorizolrtalcross section of the same taken as indicated=by:the arrows VIJVI ofFig. 4;.

:I'ligS; 7,;.8iandafi representenlarged vertical sections-throughthe topqof the :drum with the bung hole capremovedvshowing-the stirrer bar in three difierent positions to illustrate the sequence of movements involvedz'in' engaging or disengaging. the. stirrer'barwith respect to the fitting within whichzit isvjournaled: at its upper end; and

.Eie: '170 represents an enlarged vertical sectionsimiiiar-to that of: 7., 8 and 9 but showing a modificationnfithe inventioninvolving a different type of fitting; and showing the bung hole capapplied 17013811011 a fitting.

Fig. :lof the-drawingsv a conventional formo-f'. drum. is shown: at and it. may be assumed: that. this drum: represents only one of many diffenentforms;of;containers to which the present inventionis applicable; "By means of a pivot pin. 2 afiixedtothe bottom heal-d3; of the drum and na sinethrough aperture in the stirrer bar 4, the agitatoris iolunaled at its lower end. The stirrer bar-may take-1a. variety of different forms butit-is-d sirahIymade of thin flat stock twisted toya shape that most effectively stirs the con?- tontsof the drum, and-:thegeneral shape thereof rmsiano part-of thepresent invention.

Atrits upper endtthestirrer loar 4' has anupvtardly converging tapered extremity with op- 't lv dispesed notches beneath .said extremaand I for engaging a supporting fitting 8 within which the stirrer bar is journaled at the top of the drum. In Figs. 1 t 9 the fitting 8 is in the form of a bent strapmade of thin fiat material and having its ends welded or otherwise attached to the underside of the top head 9 of the drum. A circular opening II] in the supporting fitting 8 is in registry with the threaded bung hole fitting l I and so spaced beneath it that the upper end of the stirrer bar 4 is accessible within the bung hole when the cap I2 is removed and does not interfere with the cap but is partially housed within it when it is screwed into the threaded bung hole fitting II.

It will be noted that the distance between the outer limits of the upper shoulders 6 is greater than the diameter of the circular opening It in the fitting II; also that the distance between the outer limits of one upper shoulder 6 and the inner limit of the lower shoulder 1 at the opposite side of the stirrer bar is less than the diameter of the opening ID.

A handle carrier I3 is afilxed to the cap l2 by a rivet 14. A gasket is desirably interposed between the cap l2 and the threaded bung hole fitting H. To prevent the handle carrier l3 from turning with relation to the cap 12 raised bosses i6 are formed at the top of the cap at each side of the handle carrier. In addition to its function of securing a crank handle I! to the top head 9 of the drum in such manner that the crank handle will not become lost or separated from the drum while it is in transit, the handle carrier [3 serves also as a crank element which is of assistance in screwing or unscrewing the bung hole cap l2. To secure the crank handle I! in place one end of the handle carrier is bent downwardly as indicated at [8.

The crank handle I! is shown in enlarged detail in Fig. 3. Preferably it consists of a flat bar terminating at one end in a right angle offset leg l9 and having a handle grip 2!] attached at the other end. At an intermediate portion the crank handle I! is indented, as shown at 2|, to receive the end of the handle carrier l3 so that it may be firmly secured by the handle carrier at the top head 9 of the drum in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. When it is desired to apply the crank handle I! to the stirrer bar 4 in order to stir the contents of the drum, the end portion it! of the handle carrier I3 is bent upwardly to disengage the crank handle I! and the bung hole cap I2 is removed. The offset leg [9 of the crank handle is then inserted through the circular opening H] of fitting 8 to the point where a curved slot 23 formed in the end of the offset leg [9 engages a rivet 24 attached to the stirrer bar 4 as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. At the same time a rivet 25 attached to the crank handle I! enters a slot 26 formed at the top of the stirrer bar 4 and abuts against a flange 21 formed on the stirrer bar adjacent to the slot 26. The crank handle I! and stirrer bar 4 are thus interlocked with capacity for being readily detached.

It will be noted that when the stirrer bar 4 is rotated by means of the crank handle l6 it is maintained in a central position within the circular opening ID of the fitting 8 and is held free of engagement with all parts at the top of the drum excepting the circular edge of the fitting 8 in which it is journaled for rotation. This arrangernent permits the stirrer bar 4 to be actuated as often as desired without causing any wear at the bung hole fitting so that the drum may be used for a long period of time and there is no occasion for replacing any of the parts thereof during the life of the drum.

Prior to assembly of the drum heads 3 and 9 the stirrer bar 4 is interlocked with the fitting 8 by an angular movement of the bar or fitting in the plane of the bar. The angular notches 5 are so formed and related to the tapered surfaces 28 at its upper extremity that when these elements are swung relative to each other through a substantial angle, as represented in Fig. 7, the top of the stirrer bar 4 may be entered into the circular opening l0. Further relative angular motion in the plane of the stirrer bar swings these elements through the positions represented in Figs. 8 and 9 until the shoulders 6 above the angular notches 5 pass through the circular opening l0 completing the interlock between the two elements. From Figs. 7, 8 and 9 it will be apparent that the tapered surfaces 28 and the angular notches 5 coact in such manner that the stirrer bar 4 and the supporting fitting within which it is adapted to be journaled can only be assembled or disassembled by a relative angular movement equivalent to or greater than the angle X as represented in Fig. 1. This angle X is sufficiently greater than any possible movement or distortion of the stirrer bar 4 within the drum I so that it is impossible for the stirrer bar 4 and its supporting fitting to become disengaged after assembly of the drum.

In Fig. 10 of the drawings there is shown a modification of the invention in which the stirrer bar 4 the handle carrier l3, washer l5 and bung hole cap l2 are identical in construction and mode of assembly to these parts as previously described. In this example of the invention the fitting 8a within which the stirrer bar 4 is journaled is cup-shaped and internally threaded, as indicated at 3|, to receive the bung-hole cap I2. An annular flange 32 at the top of the fitting 8a is pressed into engagement with a crimped flange 33 formed in the top head 9a of the drum. The fitting 8a and drum head 9a are firmly secured together, and the agitator assembly, like that previously described, is designed for permanent incorporation in the drum. The stirrer bar 4 is shown in its vertical assembled position and is also represented in broken lines, as indicated at B, in the angular position which it assumes with respect to the top of the drum prior to its engagement with the fitting 8a. The modification thus represented involves a reduction in the number of fittings required at the top of the drum.

With either example of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings the stirrer bar 4 is journaled in such manner that it does not interfere with any normal use of the drums; the crank handle may be readily applied to the stirrer bar to rotate the same, such rotation being accomplished without objectionable oscilla tion and without injury to the threads at the bung hole; and the agitator assembly is so incorporated and interlocked with the drum heads that it can withstand a considerable fiexure without danger of disengagement. Furthermore, all parts of the agitator are secured in such manner that none of them may become dislodged or separated.

While we have described and illustrated in considerable detail a preferred embodiment of our invention and a modification thereof it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form of the parts as thus described and illustrated and that certain features of the in vention may be used to advantage without use of other features, all without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the annexed claims.

This application is a continuation in part of our abandoned application, Serial No. 545,074 filed July 15, 1944 for patent for An agitator bar assembly.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A drum having a fitting afiixed to a head thereof, said fitting having a circular opening adjacent to a bung hole in said head, and a stirrer bar permanently incorporated in said drum and having an end portion journaled in said fitting at said circular opening, said stirrer bar having an upwardly converging tapered extremity with oppositely disposed notches beneath said tapered extremity forming upper and lower shoulders for engaging said fitting above and below said opening to confine the bar to limited axial movement, the distance between the outer limits of the opposite upper shoulders being greater than the diameter of said opening, and the distance between the outer limit of one upper shoulder and the inner limit of the opposite lower shoulder being less than the diameter of said open ing, and the depth and configuration of the notches and the configuration of the tapered extremity being such that prior to assembly of the drum heads the bar can only be engaged centrally within said fitting by relative swinging movement of the bar through an angle with respect to said fitting which is larger than the relative angular movement permitted between the bar and fitting after assembly of the drum and the head carrying said fitting.

2. A drum having a fitting afiixed to a head thereof, said fitting having a circular opening adjacent to a bung hole in said head, and a stirrer bar permanently incorporated in said drum and having an end portion journaled in said fitting at said circular opening, said stirrer bar having an upwardly converging tapered extremity and being recessed between the converging surfaces to receive a crank element, and having oppositely disposed notches beneath said tapered extremity forming upper and lower shoulders for engaging said fitting above and below said opening to confine the bar to limited axial movement, the distance between the outer limits of the opposite upper shoulders being greater than the diameter of said opening, and the distance between the outer limit of one upper shoulder and the inner limit of the opposite lower shoulder being less than the diameter of said opening, and the depth and configuration of the notches and the configuratio of the tapered extremity being such that prior to assembly of the drum heads the bar can only be engaged centrally within said fitting by relative swinging movement of the bar through an angle with respect to said fitting which is larger than the relative angular movement permitted between the bar and fitting after assembly of the drum and the head carrying said fitting.

3. A drum having a fitting afiixed to a head thereof, said fitting having a circular opening adjacent to a bung hole in said head, and a fiat stirrer bar permanently incorporated in said drum and having an end portion journaled in said fitting at said circular opening, said stirrer bar having an upwardly converging tapered extremity and being recessed between the converging surfaces to receive a crank element, and having oppositely disposed notches beneath said tapered extremity forming upper and lower shoulders for engaging said fitting above and below said opening to confine the bar to limited axial movement, and said stirrer bar being otherwise free of engagement with said fitting, the distance between the outer limits of the opposite upper shoulders being greater than the diameter of said opening, and the distance between the outer limit of one upper shoulder and the inner limit of the opposite lower shoulder being less than the diameter of said opening, and the depth and configuration of the notches and the configuration of the tapered extremity being such that prior to assembly of the drum heads the bar can only be engaged centrally within said fitting by relative swinging movement of the bar in the plane of the bar through an angle with respect to said fitting which is larger than the relative angular movement permitted between the bar and fitting after assembly of the drum and the head carrying said fitting.

JOSEPH I-L INGRAHAM. WILLIAM ALBERT WILLIAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 1,621,277 Richman Mar. 15, 1927 2,137,432 Wilson et al Nov. 22, 1938 

